Despite cancellation, summer concerts draw more than 54,000
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MORGANTOWN - The toxic air caused by Canadian wildfires canceled Switchfoot's July 17 performance in Morgantown as part of the Ruby Summer Concert Series.
It's now looking like that may have just been a temporary delay.
Morgantown Arts and Cultural Development Director Vincent Kitch recently told Morgantown City Council that the California-based alt-rock outfit is all but locked in for next summer.
But keep that to yourself, for now.
"It's unofficial, but we're hoping Switchfoot will be back. We've agreed on a date and a number, so I think it will probably happen," Kitch said. "That will be announced as soon as I feel comfortable enough."
The Switchfoot cancellation aside, Kitch said this summer's Ruby Summer Concert Series continued to raise the bar for what's become a highly anticipated, and widely recognized, municipal offering.
According to Kitch, the 11 free concerts and 4th of July event brought more than 54,000 people representing at least 37 states and three countries to the Ruby Amphitheater between June and August.
"Eighty-five percent of our summer concert series people come from within 50 miles. So, we're serving locals primarily, but that means 6,000 people traveled more than 50 miles, and clearly, with 37 states, we know they're coming from a distance," he said. "Using data from Placer.ai and working with Visit Mountaineer Country CVB and their calculations, we estimated from those 6,000 people ... $1.4 million in economic impact. And that doesn't count what local people are doing on Friday night, either before or after the shows."
He said the concerts, which featured national touring acts like Hanson, Everclear, Leftover Salmon, and The War and Treaty, among others, drew an average crowd north of 4,000.
"If you spread it out over 11 concerts, every Friday night, that's definitely impacting the restaurants and bars. We're putting heads in beds. With the cellphone data we can utilize, we're really showing how much economic and social impact we're having on downtown Morgantown and the Wharf. We're proud of all that."
More than $450,000 was paid to musicians for this summer's lineup. Food and beverage vendors brought in nearly $200,000 in sales.
In terms of the city's efforts, Kitch is fond of saying "it takes a village" as he recounts the way nearly every city department is involved in supporting the concert series. He estimates the time investment from city employees at somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000.
He's also quick to point out that the support from the Hazel Ruby McQuain Charitable Trust is the foundation upon which the entire experience is built.
"It's made everything possible. Everything I've done; we've done," he said. "I think particularly because of the economy, the fact of what we can do with the world-class talent we bring in the summer for free, that is a real gift. That's how we all view it. We're giving this to the community because they may not get to go to a show or concert like that otherwise."
City Manager Jamie Miller said Kitch deserves a standing ovation for pulling it all together.
"Particularly I do want to talk about the Ruby Summer Concert Series, which is something incredibly special that this community has to offer to its citizens. I think Vincent was a big part of envisioning what that could be and making those big swings to say, 'We can do something really great and special here,’" Miller said. "And as someone who's joined your community, you have done something great and special."
There's still one more opportunity to get down to the Ruby Amphitheater this fall.
On Oct. 31, the city will host the Halloween Spooktacular. The evening will start at 4 p.m. with a trunk-or-treat, followed by a viewing of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” at 5 p.m. and “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 7 p.m.